The DFID conflict assessment project is moving into
its final phase, having completed three of the planned four case
studies - Moldova, Nepal and Sri Lanka. The remaining activities
include conducting the Kyrgyzstan case study and the preparation
of a synthesis of main findings & draft guidelines for carrying
out strategic conflict assessments.

Information on DFID/MoD/FCO co-ordination in the
recently announced joint post-conflict fund

The recommendations of the Reviews on Conflict Prevention
in Africa and the Rest of the World are being taken forward jointly
by DFID, MoD and FCO. In July it was announced that funds would
be allocated for conflict reduction in Africa (to be managed by
a Ministerial Committee headed by the Secretary of State for International
Development) and for the Rest of the World (headed by a Ministerial
Committee chaired by the Foreign Secretary). The new arrangements
will come into effect from the financial year 2001 for a period
of three years. Officials from the concerned Departments are working
on the accounting arrangements, procedures and priorities for
the operation of the two initiatives. There will be further details
in response to the Select Committee report on the Departmental
Report.

An update on post-conflict reconstruction in Rwanda
and the contribution of DFID, and of multilaterals to which DFID
contributes

The UK remains firmly committed to supporting Rwanda's
post conflict reconstruction. The Secretary of State visited Rwanda
in May, her third visit in three years, to discuss progress on
commitments made under the Memorandum of Understanding signed
in April 1999. Progress has been good in a number of key areas
including economic reform and reconciliation, but there are many
challenges remaining, including regional security. Rwanda remains
committed to the Lusaka peace process. However, their presence
in the DRC, along with other Lusaka signatories, continues to
attract international criticism.

On the economic front there has been a successful
outcome to the IMF first review under the second annual Poverty
Reduction Growth Facility (PRGF) arrangement. In July, the IMF
announced the release of US$ 12.5 million and the balance of DFID
Programme Aid, £4.4 million was also released. Discussions
are now underway between the Government of Rwanda and the IMF
to agree targets for the 3rd year of the PRGF. The
Poverty Reduction Strategy Process is also well advanced, with
support from DFID totalling £1 million, so the HIPC (Heavily
Indebted Poor Countries) decision point could be reached by late
2000. DFID is now proceeding with the design and appraisal of
the next phase of DFID Budget and Education sector support for
consideration by the Secretary of State in October.

Elections are planned for late October to elect non-party
leaders at Commune level. This follows local non-party elections
at Cell and Sector level, the lowest administrative level, in
1999. DFID is providing £350,000 to help establish the National
Election Commission (NEC) and provide post election evaluation.
Progress on work to develop the use of traditional, community-based
justice systems, aimed at reducing the numbers of prisoners currently
held without trial, has been slower than hoped, but following
the October elections we would expect some progress in this area.

DFID has also provisionally agreed to provide support
to the National Unity and Reconciliation Summit planned for later
this year. The NURC was established to promote broad dialogue
and co-existence amongst the Rwandese and is a key institution
to help achieve reconciliation in Rwanda. The summit will involve
Rwandan communities, national leadership and the international
community to review the reconciliation process and the challenges
ahead.

Progress in ratifying the Statute on the International
Criminal Court (ICC)

Draft legislation to enable UK ratification of the
ICC Statute was published for consultation on

25 August. The Government looks forward to receiving
comments on the draft Bill from Parliamentarians, organisations
and individuals before the end of the consultation period on 12
October. This process should help to ensure that the Bill, when
introduced, is in the best possible shape.

The Government is committed to progressing this legislation
as soon as Parliamentary time allows. The proposed legislation
will cover England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Scottish Executive
is bringing forward separate Holyrood legislation.

Effectiveness of the UN Development Assistance
Framework (UNDAF)

The Government supports the ongoing extension of
the UNDAF process to all appropriate UN programme countries. We
will press for greater depth and quality of the co­ordination
achieved between UN agencies and with other donors through the
UNDAF mechanism, since there is anecdotal evidence that this varies
considerably from country to country. DFID will encourage UNDP,
as the UN agency mandated to co­ordinate the UN's development
efforts, to strengthen its co­ordinating role and to give
as much priority to this work as to its programme delivery.

It will be important for the World Bank and the UN
to work closely together to ensure that the UNDAFs, the Comprehensive
Development Frameworks and the Poverty Reduction Strategies are
coherent and complementary. DFID will continue to press them to
do so.

Outcome of discussions between DFID and private
sector representatives on codes of conduct and conflict situations

DFID has taken part in a series of discussions with
FCO and the US State Department, to develop a code of conduct
for businesses in the oil and mineral extractive industries. The
code has been jointly drafted by NGOs and businesses, and addresses
best practise in risk assessment and risk reduction; the relationship
between companies and public security services; and guidelines
on the use of private security companies.

DFID held a successful conference on Business and
Peace at Lancaster House in May 2000 which brought together a
wide range of participants, including from businesses, NGOs, governments
and academia. DFID is now seeking to convene in­country round
tables to promote similar dialogues between businesses, government
and civil society in conflict prone countries.

Conclusions of the Global Citizenship Unit (GCU)
on the role of business in conflict prevention and a copy of the
manual on best practice for British companies operating overseas

No manual on best practice has been produced. The
GCU, in consultation with DFID and other Government Departments,
is finalising an introduction to corporate citizenship which will
be less prescriptive than the document originally envisaged. It
is due to be published by the beginning of next year.

Progress on the introduction of legislation to
make the corruption of foreign officials a criminal offence

The Government is committed to the introduction of
this legislation. The Home Office published proposals for updating
the UK law on corruption in June 2000 which would involve clarification
of the legal position and consolidation of the existing Prevention
of Corruption Acts (1906 and 1917) and the earlier Public Bodies
Corrupt Practices Act of 1889.

Subject to the outcome of the consultation process,
these proposals will be incorporated in a Bill which will be introduced
when Parliamentary time allows. Consideration is being given to
parallel changes to the law in Scotland which is now the responsibility
of the Scottish Executive.

When enacted the law will include a clear definition
of the concept of corruption and enable its application to both
the public and private sectors. The law will have wider applicability
and there will be no doubt under the law that it is an offence
to bribe a foreign public official to further a business transaction.
The Government has also proposed that, exceptionally, this offence
should be subject to extra-territorial jurisdiction: that is corrupt
acts by UK nationals will be subject to prosecution in the UK
courts even if the bribe is paid abroad.

Progress on the production of the Green Paper
on mercenaries

The FCO, as lead Department for this work, has indicated
its intention to publish the Green Paper by November 2000.

Information on progress in obtaining more transparency
and further reform of the EU Code of Conduct on Arms Exports,
and on progress in control of trafficking and brokering.

The Government will continue to support the development
and improvement as appropriate of the Code of Conduct during the
annual reviews of its operation. In particular, the Government
intends to encourage EU partners to apply the same level of transparency
to their export licensing decisions and actual exports as the
UK has done in its Annual Reports on Strategic Export Controls.
The Government will also continue to support the publication of
consolidated Presidency reports on the outcome of the annual reviews.
As noted in its response to the Committee's report, however, the
Government would not expect such reports to contain details of
denial notifications circulated by Member States or subsequent
consultations, as the Code of Conduct specifies that these will
remain confidential.

The Government has decided to introduce a system
of licensing for arms trafficking and brokering. This will go
significantly further than the White Paper on Strategic Export
Controls proposals on trafficking and brokering. This means that
weapons transfers organised between third countries from the UK
will be subject to licensing requirement. Full details of the
Government's proposals on trafficking and brokering will be set
out when the Government announces its proposals for new export
control legislation following conclusion of the current review
of this White Paper.

SPHERE project & monitoring NGO activity in
humanitarian crises

DFID continues to support the SPHERE project. The
Humanitarian Charter and guidelines on Minimum Standards in Disaster
Response have been finalised and published. This has been followed
through by promoting international dissemination of the guidelines,
piloting the standards in a range of operational situations and
developing training.

DFID is funding a number of other initiatives aimed
at promoting the accountability of humanitarian agencies, including
the Humanitarian Accountability Project (formerly known as the
Humanitarian Ombudsman Project). This project seeks to develop
a mechanism to ensure that the concerns of people affected by
conflict and disaster are heard by and acted upon by humanitarian
agencies. The sensitivity of the humanitarian system to the needs
of the people it serves will thereby be improved.

The DFID Guidelines on Humanitarian Assistance continue
to request agencies to state, when submitting project proposals,
whether they are signatories to the Code of Conduct for the International
Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and Non-Governmental Organisations
in Disaster Relief and whether they are involved in any other
quality or standards initiative. DFID is working on measures to
support NGOs in improving their security standards, for example
by funding country-specific security training courses.

Mozambique

This issue has been fully dealt with in the response
Mozambique section of this memorandum.